Online Access to US Federal Censuses
by Nathan W. Murphy, MA, AG®
Access every US Federal Census from the comfort of your own home!
Thanks to rigorous indexing by commercial genealogical companies, scanned copies of every released US Federal Census (1790 through 1930) can now be viewed online.
The table below charts the progress the top two census sites, Ancestry and Heritage Quest, have made in scanning and indexing these records.
Year |
Ancestry |
Heritage Quest |
1790 |
AB |
AB |
1800 |
AB |
AB |
1810 |
AB |
AB |
1820 |
AB |
AB |
1830 |
AB |
|
1840 |
AB |
|
1850 |
ABC |
|
1860 |
ABC |
A* |
1870 |
ABC |
AB |
1880 |
ABC |
|
1890 |
||
1900 |
ABC |
AB |
1910 |
AB |
AB |
1920 |
ABC |
AB |
1930 |
ABC |
A* |
A = Original census images |
||
B = Head of household index |
||
C = Every-name index |
||
* = Partial index |
||
Ancestry is by far the most comprehensive census web site and has created the most inclusive indexes (every-name indexes opposed to Heritage Quest’s head of household indexes); however, since both companies index census records independently, it is often useful to check both sites when one search engine fails to return the desired results.
Since commercial entities produced these sites, users must purchase SUBSCRIPTIONS to access this material online. HOWEVER, most Family History Centers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have subscriptions to Ancestry and allow patrons to log-on to this site for free. Click here to find a Family History Center near you. In addition, many public and university libraries have free access to Heritage Quest. Click here to find a subscribing library near you. So if you wish to be a pajama researcher from your home, some fees are required; however, if you’re willing to travel to a Family History Center or library, these sites are FREE.